One of the best things about IKEA furniture is that it's so modular and easy to play with. In this case, a group of researchers turned a small bookshelf into a mobile "research lab" that contained all of their notes, books, and even a tea set for interviews. Here's how they did it.

The research team, a group of Anthropologists and artists at Stockholm University, decided that the Ikea BILLY was the perfect height and size to keep all of their documents and notes when they went from lab to office and off to talk to interview subjects. They took a pair of shopping cart wheels, a battery operated LED, and two BILLY shelves and tore them all apart.

The only real modifications to the components were to carve out space for the wheels. The rest was easy: they attached the wheels at the bottom and attached a handle to the back, assembled the body from the combined pieces of the two shelves, and used the leftovers to make a pair of stools they could sit on while working. They eve had room in the shelf for a tea set, so they could have a drink while they worked.

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Clearly it's more effort than just going out and getting a rolling cart with some storage space, but they have the benefit of being able to carry everything they need, as well as a place to sit and something to drink. What do you think, over the top, or something you might try? Have your say in the comments.